Clockwise from top left, Denée Benton and Amber Gray in “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”; Taylor Mac in “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music”; Joe Morton in “Turn Me Loose”; David Hyde Pierce in “A Life”; Laura Dreyfuss and Ben Platt in “Dear Evan Hansen”; and Mary-Louise Parker in “Heisenberg.”A “Great Comet,” a 24-hour magnum opus and a comedy about slavery are among the top shows of the year.

Standing from left, Harold Surratt and James Edward Becton, and seated from left, Laura E. Johnston, Trevor Hayes and David Stallings, at La MaMa.Erik Ehn’s sprawling experimental drama at La MaMa, directed by Glory Kadigan, means to be obscure, though probably not to the degree that it is.

Penny Arcade at St. Ann’s Warehouse in her solo show “Longing Lasts Longer,” in which she laments a changed New York and frets about group-mind control.“Longing Lasts Longer,” Ms. Arcade’s solo show at St. Ann’s Warehouse, laments a changed New York and frets about group-mind control.

Matt Steiner, left, as Aaron Swartz (reading the part of Chelsea Manning), and E. James Ford as his friend Billy (reading the part of President Obama) in the play within a play in “Private Manning Goes to Washington.”In Stan Richardson’s “Private Manning Goes to Washington,” the activist hacker Aaron Swartz wants to put on a play inspired by the whistle-blower Manning.

The ensemble play “The Wolves” focuses on a soccer team of suburban teenage girls.In this play, ideas and emotions jostle for position as a soccer team of teenage girls chatter and loosen up before playing.

Ben Platt in the title role of the musical “Dear Evan Hansen, ” at the Music Box Theater.This gorgeous heartbreaker of a musical, starring Ben Platt and directed by Michael Greif, has tragedy at its core but is anything but a downer.

Drake and Rihanna at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.This list includes feats of acting and core strength, performances that made the author happy even when they raised his blood pressure or made him cry.

A scene from Bela Pinter’s “Our Secrets,” which will open at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in January.The season’s lineup includes premieres by the Hungarian theater troupe Bela Pinter and Company and the dancers Molly Lieber and Eleanor Smith.

Jason Bishop in “Straight Up Magic,” at the New Victory Theater. Jason Bishop’s “Straight Up Magic” and “The Illusionists: Turn of the Century” offer audiences a chance to feel bewitched, bothered and bamboozled.

Gabe Leonard’s poster for “Mom’s Dead,” a production of of the Los Angeles theater company Sacred Fools.The artist Gabe Leonard talks about a painting he created for a poster promoting the Los Angeles production of the play “Mom’s Dead.”

Ron Cook as Robin and Francesca Annis as Rose in Lucy Kirkwood’s new play, “The Children.”The play by Lucy Kirkwood is at the Royal Court; also reviewed are “The Sewing Group” by E.V. Crowe and a revival of Somerset Maugham’s “Sheppey.”

Hudson Loverro, center left, as Young Calogero, with Nick Cordero as Sonny, in the musical “A Bronx Tale,” at the Longacre Theater.The music freshens the material in this show at the Longacre Theater, with a book by Chazz Palminteri, who also wrote and starred in the original solo play.

Young theatergoers help adult actors launch an airship in one of the installations in “Pip’s Island.”In “Pip’s Island,” an interactive theater piece, children travel through a dozen installations as they assist adult actors in saving a magical realm.